Visitor Counter

Visitors Since Blog Created in March 2010

Click Below to:

Add Blog to Favorites

Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions.
This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization.
Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

Cougar population on the Island is rising

Experts say up to 600 animals roaming the area

By Darrell Bellaart;canada.com

The cougar population on Vancouver Island is up by about 50% from a decade ago, mirroring a rising Island deer population.A Nanaimo wildlife technician said the cougar population could be as high as 600, up from a maximum of 400 in 2001.

A report of a cougar seen guarding over a deer carcass in an Extension yard this week led to a warning from school officials for parents to remind school children to use extra caution while walking in the neighbourhood.Other sightings have come from all corners of the city. It's not unusual to see more cougar activity in the spring, but the predators' populations do naturally rise with populations of its natural prey.

Right now, Island deer herds are increasing. "I believe it's on the a bit of an upswing because of the deer on Vancouver Island," said conservation officer Stuart Bates."Our number of cats, the last estimate we did was in 2010, it's 400 to 600 animals,," said Jerry MacDermott, who has studied the wild cats for about a decade on the Island.

In 2001, it was 300 to 400. Cougars are elusive and difficult to track, especially the males.
"We have a satellite tom (cat) that travels from Mount Benson to Port Alberni, and typically a male will overlap with four or five females," MacDermott said.

It's easier to track deer within 13 geographic areas."We can't survey every portion of the Island but within those we can do our inventories."As deer populations rise, more cougars survive. That can create trouble for young, inexperienced cats when older cats push them out of their territory, closer to urban areas and healthy deer.

In one highly publicized example years ago, a cougar was tranquillized and captured in the Empress Hotel parkade in Victoria.Such circumstances are rare, but they are often dangerous situations.
"You might have 10 cats on the outskirts of town and you wouldn't know it but you might have a cougar emaciated that could take a risk to attack a pet or there have been incidents where cougars have been spotted in all kinds of places, like the Empress, or on a school property," MacDermott said.
Longer-term, he predicts the cougar population will stabilize along with deer herd numbers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two Massachusetts Eastern Coyotes at their den site

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Aldo Leopold--3 quotes from his SAN COUNTY ALMANAC

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Aldo Leopold

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

Aldo Leopold

''To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."

Wildlife Rendezvous

Like so many conscientious hunters and anglers come to realize, good habitat with our full suite of predators and prey make for healthy and productive living............Teddy Roosevelt depicted at a "WILDLIFE RENDEZVOUS"

Recent Posts

Blog Disclaimer

This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time…I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of my various thoughts and opinions, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those I may hold today. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Rick Meril and WWW.COYOTES-WOLVES-COUGARS.COM make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.